


Ache

by GGMoonyCrisco



Category: Soul Calibur
Genre: Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 22:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2750162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GGMoonyCrisco/pseuds/GGMoonyCrisco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Pre SC4) Maxi reunites with his two closest friends, but the new power within him threatens to tear them apart once more. Implied one-sided Maxi/Kilik</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ache

It was disturbing, discovering patches that covered up things you didn’t even realize were missing. Holes in memories, entire months at a time had vanished away without Maxi even realizing they’d been there at all. And all it took to remind him was the sound of a soft voice, shouting his name as he kneeled at the grave overlooking the port. 

 

He’d turned around, and next thing he knew she had bodily flung herself upon him, arms wrapped around him and squeezing like she’d never let go. 

 

Another set of arms joined hers in a frenzy of emotion, and just like that, he remembered.  Xianghua. Kilik.  The names came to him instantly, as did all of the memories of their travels together that he hadn’t even known he’d forgotten until right that moment. They’d been eaten away in the ritual that bound the shard to his body and restored his strength. That was almost a year ago, now-- and he’d spent all this time thinking he was utterly alone in the world. 

 

Since that moment the day before, it was very much like old times again. They laughed, they shared stories of their travels, Xianghua and Maxi tried to talk over each other again and again and Kilik just smiled, patiently waiting for one or the other to sort it out. It had been four years since they conquered Soul Edge together, and four years since Xianghua and Kilik thought Maxi had died. They had all become stronger since then, so different from those carefree warriors who’d traveled together years ago. 

 

Other things were different too. Xianghua kept a hand draped on Kilik’s shoulder, occasionally mussing his hair and resting her weight on him. They had grown closer, it seemed-- but Kilik, ever the monk, didn’t seem to react much to her affectionate gestures. Obliviousness or some sense of propriety… one or the other with Kilik. That hadn’t changed at all. 

 

And  that  was one thing Maxi didn’t need to be reminded of. It came back to him, quick and sharp, the moment he laid eyes on Kilik again. It hit him like a twist in his stomach, butterflies, a slow burn in his chest that seemed to actually hurt. He shoved it away and did his best to act like his old self. He wouldn’t even know where to start telling either of them what was wrong. 

 

\---

 

They got a room at the inn, deciding to wait until the oncoming storm passed through before setting off again. It went unspoken that Maxi was welcome with them again-- seemed out of the question that he would think otherwise. Trying to beat the rain, Xianghua made a list of extra supplies to buy and set off for the marketplace, jokingly warning  Maxi that they could only practically carry so many bottles of alcohol.

 

Kilik seemed restless for some reason, pacing from the bed to the window periodically as though trying to figure something out. Maxi, meanwhile, sat at the small table, feeling sick. The pain in his chest seemed to have manifested itself physically, an uncomfortable feverish heat that seemed to be spreading through him the longer it stuck around. 

 

“Is something wrong?” Kilik was always observant that way. 

 

Maxi licked his lips and shook his head. “That’s my line,” he said. “You’re the one digging a rut in the floor walking back and forth like that.” 

 

The monk smiled a little awkwardly and leaned against the wall beside the window. “I’m sorry. I’m probably just sensitive to it to begin with, but… I can feel Soul Edge in this place.” 

 

Maxi’s breath caught in his throat, and he couldn’t think of a thing to say before Kilik spoke again. 

 

“The curse isn’t as bad as it used to be. I’ve learned to purify it, and I’ve been cleansing my body of its taint a little at a time,” he said. “The Dvapara-Yuga is more for security than necessity now. Though I could still slip easily without it. I have to train more.” 

 

“Oh.” Maxi’s eyes were suddenly drawn to the jewel around Kilik’s neck. “At least it’s not like it was.”

 

“Yes.” Kilik gazed out the window again. “Even as it’s faded, I’m aware of Soul Edge’s energy when we come across it. Perhaps I really can feel it from this far away. But ever since we got to this town, I’ve noticed it getting stronger. Perhaps there’s a fragment of the sword here.” 

 

Maxi shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe.” He stared down at the surface of the table, and only then realized that his hand was clasped over his chest. Hurriedly, he put it back down on the table. 

 

“Or perhaps I’m just being emotional.” Sighing, Kilik drew away from the window and walked back across the room. He smiled as he stood beside the table, and took a long look at Maxi. 

 

“I’m so happy you’re alive,” he said at last. “I’m happy you’ll be traveling with us again. I’ve really missed you, Maxi.” 

 

Even Maxi couldn’t fake casual ambivalence on that one. He smiled awkwardly, and met eyes with his friend. “I missed you too.” It was the truth and a lie all at the same time. 

 

\--- 

 

The pain grew worse as the day went on, becoming something close to agony by the time night fell. Maxi made the excuse that he was feeling poorly to go to sleep early, though his sleep was wretched. He was restless, and what dreams he had were nightmares about fire and blood. His ship, splintering to pieces and swallowed by the waves. His crew, bloodied faces, ragged voices screaming for help as they drowned. Kyam, bleeding out in his arms, unable to stop shaking.  He woke up almost hourly, clutching his chest and gasping for deep breaths to calm himself down, trying not to draw any attention to himself. 

 

Then a little before midnight, he opened his eyes to find himself standing by Kilik’s bed. 

 

Part of him was puzzled why he was standing and how he’d done so. The other part of him felt a very insistent urge to take the Dvapara-Yuga from around Kilik’s neck. 

 

The chain wasn’t even very thick. One good tug and he could tear it off, stomp it into pieces on the floor. Throw it out the window or into a well. 

 

He went as far as reaching for the chain when his better judgement cut through.  What are you doing? He forced himself to stop, his hand trembling as he pulled it back and away.  He needs that.  The jewel ensured that Kilik could keep himself under control, keep the curse of the Evil Seed from driving him mad as it had on the day he and Maxi met. He’d said it himself- he could easily slip. 

 

But imagine how Kilik’s blood would  sing. How the curse would roar in his body, how that beautiful, intoxicating darkness would turn the quiet monk into a bloodthirsty animal… how it would resonate with the shard, how Maxi would be able to feel him within his own body. How he could finally have what he’d wanted all this time, finally have Kilik’s attention for his very own, and have his madness under the command of Maxi’s own piece of Soul Edge--

 

When he refocused, his fingers were tangled in Kilik’s hair, starting to clutch at a handful. Maxi stumbled back away from the bed, catching himself on the hearth. His heart was pounding, sweat was dripping down his face, and inside his chest, the shard of Soul Edge was screaming. 

 

Ah. So that was it. No ordinary pain or heartache at all, merely a symptom of the darkness Maxi had bound inside his very flesh. 

 

He stood there long enough to calm himself down and fight away the voices still screaming in his ears. Then he grabbed his satchel from beside his bed and left. 

 

\--- 

 

“Maxi!” 

 

Maxi thought he’d left quietly enough, and yet was somehow not surprised to hear Kilik’s voice behind him just as he reached the road.  You should just keep walking, he told himself.  Walk away. Pretend you don’t hear him. 

 

Too bad he thought it as he was already turning around. He didn’t walk closer, though, forcing himself to keep backing away as Kilik approached. 

 

The monk’s expression was twisted with worried concern. “Where are you going? I thought you were coming with us.” 

 

“I’m not,” Maxi said quickly, forcefully. “I can’t.” 

 

“Why?” 

 

He’d been rehearsing his own justification on the entire way out of the city, and had been fully prepared to vehemently argue for it if anyone asked. 

 

Anyone but Kilik, of course. 

 

Maxi fell silent, and it took a few moments before he added on the best thing he could think of to chase him away. 

 

“I’m not going to destroy Soul Edge, Kilik. I need it.” 

 

Kilik’s face sank. “What? Why?” 

 

“To kill Astaroth.” At least that was an easy answer. That hadn’t changed. “He’s alive again. I have to kill him. And I can’t do it without Soul Edge. I’m not strong enough without it.” 

 

“Maxi, you can’t. You saw what it does to its wielders,” Kilik insisted. “You can’t use it. It’ll destroy you. You’ll become like the Azure Knight.” 

 

“I don’t care.” His voice was shaking against his will. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me. I have to kill him-- for the souls of my crew. For Kyam. And I’m not going to let anyone stop me-- not even you and Xianghua.” 

 

Kilik looked dumbstruck. His eyes searched his friend’s face for answers, for any kind of explanation for what he was doing so suddenly. He stared for a moment, shaking his head, then took a deep breath. 

 

“I can feel it inside of you, Maxi.” 

 

That caught him off guard. His eyes widened, and he quickly clasped a hand over his chest, almost defensively. “What?” 

 

“I felt it before we even found you here.” He looked sad, worried, and as always, irritatingly calm despite. “I knew it was there the instant I saw you. I don’t know where or how you got it, but I know you. It wasn’t something you intended.” 

 

Now Maxi was the one who looked worried. He took another few steps back, shaking his head. “You don’t understand.” 

 

“I’m not judging you, Maxi. But I can feel what it’s doing to you. It’s hurting you because of the Dvapara-Yuga.” 

 

Leave it to Kilik to know all the spiritual mystical horseshit side of things. Maxi should have known better than to think he could hide it, he thought. 

 

“Then I can’t stay with you,” he said. “I can’t get rid of it or stop it, Kilik. One of us is gonna break.” 

 

“That’s not true,” Kilik argued. 

 

“You said it yourself. You could slip. I could make you.” He forced himself to take a deep breath. “You’ll slip, or I’ll…” He’ll what? Drop dead? Go crippled again? Maxi didn’t even know. It hardly even registered to him when the threat of driving Kilik insane again was so easy to imagine. 

 

Either way, he couldn’t let it happen. 

 

“Please, Maxi. Don’t be rash. We can find a way- I don’t know what, but we’ll find a way to do this together. All right?” And gods help him, Kilik just looked so sure of himself. 

 

It wasn’t an ordinary look for him. Maxi remembered the shy, quiet, worried warrior monk who he’d traveled with so long ago, so unsure of himself and unsure of his abilities. He remembered taking Kilik to his first tavern, buying him his first drink that wasn’t ceremonial wine, doing his best to interpret that subdued sense of humor of his, because he looked so good when he laughed. He remembered late nights in the camp, stargazing, sharing legends from their cultures. Exchanging eyerolls as Xianghua dragged them here or there to look at this or that in every single marketplace. Sparring until they got so tired they collapsed into their tent and couldn’t move the next day-- the scent of his body and the way his tousled hair fell in his face when he slept, and how Maxi wondered what Kilik would do if he kissed him and touched him-- wondering if he’d ever been touched before. 

 

Then he remembered those bestial screams, the scent of blood, the inhuman strength in his muscles and the raw hatred in Kilik’s eyes when the curse overtook him-- and in his chest, the shard cried out with lust. 

 

Maxi had never dreaded any words so much in his life- but ever the confident one, he sounded as casual as could be when he said them. 

 

“Sorry, Kilik. I always go my own way.” 


End file.
